


Conflagration

by EHC



Series: Tales of Super-Max [4]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 11:12:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19272115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EHC/pseuds/EHC
Summary: Fire fire, burning bright,In the highways of the day;Can the power of Time's soft handSoothe the dragon's rage and pain?





	Conflagration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simpletextadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpletextadventure/gifts).



> Just an idea that came to me at work yesterday and demanded release. Not a lot here to sink your teeth into but I enjoyed translating the idea from head to paper, so to speak.
> 
> Oh, and it gets a touch naughty towards the end. Hence, the mature rating.

"--ire continues to burn at temperatures far exceeding--"

Click.

"--stymied any efforts to smother the flames, let alone--"

Click.

"--itnesses claim there was some sort of explosion that started--"

Click.

"--can't even get close enough to figure out what's in the center, much less--"

Click.

"-- _it_ , the road's melting! Do you see this?! The asphalt's actually m--"

Click.

"--th count is likely dozens, based soley on the number of cars tha--"

Click.

"--ied using water but it evaporated into super-heated steam, causin--"

Click.

"--eat is off the scale! Literally! We can't get an accurate tempera--"

Click.

"--isn't spreading, though the intensity keeps rising. But if that changes--"

Click.

"--ocal heroes are focused more on evacuation as all attempts to extinguish th--"

Click.

Max let out a soft sigh as she set the TV remote on the couch, then ran her hands across her face. She had a bad feeling that something like this was going to happen at some point. The only question that remained: was this an accident or a deliberate attack? Either way, she knew what she had to do.

Rising from the couch, Max stepped outside of their apartment and took flight.

 

* * *

 

"Status report?"

Deluge shook his head. "No change, Commander. The heat bubble hasn't grown any but we've had no luck dropping its temperature. Rain and I combined our powers but didn't make any headway into extinguishing the flames. It just generated even more steam than the first attempt. Gust was able to keep the steam from harming anyone, though."

Commander turned to Heat Wave. "Can you siphon the heat away from the source, cool it that way?"

"I've tried, Commander. No luck." She raised her chin in the direction of ground zero. "Whatever's generating the heat is pumping it out as fast as I can pull it away."

"And what about pushing it towards the source, decrease the size of the bubble?"

Heat Wave considered it. "While that could work, it'd likely focus the heat that much more in the center, increasing the core temperature to dangerous levels."

Commander grunted in displeasure. "Any word yet from Cold Snap?"

"She's inbound, though she's still at least five minutes out," Deuce replied. "She was pretty far out helping with the wildfires when this happened."

"Understood." Commander turned back and eyed the center of the destroyed intersection. Even with his goggles it was hard to stare too long. Whatever was causing the problem was glowing brighter than burning magnesium. "When she gets here, I want a coordinated assault. Deluge and Rain will simultaneously drop a lake's worth of water on the target. Cold Snap will focus on preventing it from becoming steam while Gust will push the entire body of water down to surface level. With a little bit of luck, that will smother the source and we can get to the bottom of this."

"I can help."

The unexpected voice caused all the heroes to turn around. Before them was a teenager. Civilian, brown hair, blue eyes, clad in a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Completely ordinary and completely not where she belonged. Commander frowned. "How the hell did you get past the barricades?" He glanced past the girl to the police line and saw several officers looking in their direction.

"I can help," the girl repeated, ignoring the question. She nodded towards the fiery maelstrom. "With that."

Commander turned to his fellow heroes. "Heat Wave, Deluge, get her out of here."

"Yes, Commander."

The two heroes approached the girl who, uncharacteristically, didn't flinch or even acknowledge their approach. They grasped her upper arms and went to forcibly escort her back to the barricade.

She didn't budge.

The lack of give from the girl caught the two heroes unaware and they staggered slightly. They blinked in surprise and, a moment later, were caught completely off-guard when the girl started walking towards Commander. They tried holding her back but, as super strength wasn't either one of their powers, they were about as effective as trying to stop a moving tank.

Commander raised an eyebrow at the casual display of strength. So, she wasn't a civilian but a Super. Interesting. "I hope you realize that unregistered Supers are illegal in this state."

"I hope you realize that I don't care." Max stopped just outside of Commander's personal space. "Also nice of you to assume I'm not registered." She reached into her back pocket and withdrew a wallet, then slipped out a card. "Here."

Commander took the card and gave it a once-over. And blinked. "Super-Max, retired. Formerly a member of the Superhero Association, junior chapter."

"Yes."

Looking at the girl with new eyes, Commander handed the ID back. "Considering that you somehow got past the barricades and demonstrated at least some level of super strength, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are who you say you are." He crossed his arms. "How can you help here?"

"I can talk to the person responsible for the fire. Calm her down. Get her to retract the flames."

"You know who she is?"

"Yes."

There was a pregnant pause as Commander waited for more. When it became obvious that nothing further was coming, he frowned. "And are you going to share that information with us?"

Max shook her head. "No need. You'll find out soon enough, when I get her to stop."

Commander grunted. "I don't appreciate your attitude, Super-Max."

"And I don't care," she shot back. "I'm retired, you're not my commander, and I wasn't asking for permission." Max turned away and began walking towards the ruined intersection. "Wait here. I'll be back."

That flippant disregard for his authority was the last straw. Commander growled and reached out a hand to grab the former hero (he, too, possessed super strength and was pissed enough to cross swords with the disrespectful girl and see if he was stronger than her) when she vanished. Commander stumbled slightly, then glanced around. There, about 30 feet away and well into the heat bubble, was the faint outline of the girl. As he watched, her clothing burst into flames before she was completely obscured by the bright intensity of the central fire.

Commander turned away, partly in irritation, partly because he couldn't be certain the young super hadn't just immolated herself. He had no idea what kind of powers she had outside of at least some super strength. He could only hope she was still alive and trying to help.

 

* * *

 

It was like walking into an oven. Max winced slightly even as she instinctively started floating a couple inches above the hot ground, to protect the rubber sole of her sneakers from the near-molten asphalt. The point became moot a couple of seconds later when her clothing ignited and burned away. Her nudity didn't phase her and she maintained her forward momentum, flying at a walking pace towards the center of the flames.

The brightness before Max would've been enough to blind a normal person, or even other Supers, but not her. Her invulnerability had only grown since her days with the SA and neither the intense heat, the flames, or the eye-searing brightness could harm her. She could feel some discomfort but any actual damage would simply be negated. This meant that when she reached Rachel, curled in a fetal position in the middle of a pool of lava, glowing white-hot from her own abilities, Max was able to kneel at her side and pull her girlfriend into her lap.

Max didn't pay any mind to the devastation around them, the molten remnants of cars, the scattered ash that was once innocent people, none of it. Her only focus was on comforting the sobbing Rachel. Holding her close, rocking her slightly, stroking her fingers through the glowing filaments that was her beautiful blonde hair. And though air was hard to come by in the center of the firestorm, Max was still able to draw in a breath.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I got you. I'm here." She repeated the gentle words, filled with love, care, and pain. Because she knew what happened. The only thing that could've happened to cause Rachel to lose absolute control over herself in the middle of the city. And it hurt.

Eventually, Max could feel the sheer intensity of Rachel's flames die down. It was a good sign, relatively speaking, that she was starting to calm down. She loosened her grip as Rachel slowly unfurled her body, then wrapped her arms around Max in a crushing embrace, and wailed.

Around them, the fire eased off and disappeared entirely, leaving behind molten rock and metal. At the outskirts of the former heat bubble, heroes Rain and Deluge caused a moderate downpour to cool things off, while Gust ensured the resulting steam cloud was driven high into the sky. Heat Wave ensured the residual heat was contained in the former hot zone and, when Cold Snap arrived a minute later, the last bit of the renegade heat was extinguished.

None of it mattered to Max and Rachel, however. Chloe was still dead.

 

* * *

 

"We were sitting at the intersection," Rachel whispered to Max ten minutes later, still clutching her close. "Just laughing at some stupid joke. The light was red. She turned to me to say something when all of a sudden, we were hit from behind. We must've gotten shoved forward but all I remember was getting spun around. There was a horrific sound and something wet sprayed all over me.

"I must've passed out or something. When I came to, someone was right outside the truck, trying to get the door open. I couldn't understand what was happening. My ears were ringing and I just couldn't focus. But then, I turned to Chloe.

"She was..." Rachel sniffed. "Oh, God, she was--" She tightened her grip on Max. "She was dead. Even I could see that. Her neck was at this horrible angle, part of her head looked crushed, and there was so much blood everywhere. And her eyes..."

Rachel sniffed again. "Chloe's eyes always have a fire in them. No matter what. I might have flames but she had something in her that burned brighter than anything I could summon. And it was gone. Just gone.

"I don't remember what happened next. I think I screamed. And the fire came out. It was like it was hurt, too. I couldn't control it. And I couldn't get it back inside. Because what did it matter? Chloe was dead. Her fire was gone. And nothing else mattered."

Max simply held Rachel close as the girl cried softly, ignoring the sounds of people around. The Supers. The police. Taking photos, gathering evidence, doing their jobs. Someone, she wasn't sure who, draped a couple of blankets over them to protect their modesty from the numerous cameras that snapped photo after photo from the barricades. But, again, none of that mattered. There was a reckoning coming and, sadly, Max was going to have to deliver it.

But not in the method Rachel was expecting. It was something Max had considered in the past, something she had experimented with on and off over the past several months. It might work, though it was going to hurt. But a normal rewind wasn't going to cut it. Rachel had to know, had to understand, the consequences of her actions. The only way to do that was to make her remember even with a rewind. And there was only one way to do it.

"You can fix this, right?" Rachel leaned back, the sheer misery radiating from her face making Max falter slightly. "Please. I'm begging you. Fix this. Make it go away. I'll promise anything, do anything. On behalf of my past self. Please."

"Super-Max?"

Both girls turned to the voice. Commander stood before them, looking stern but not without something approaching sympathy on his face. Max wondered if it was a first for him.

"It's time. We need to take you both into custody now. For questioning." He glanced at Rachel. "To see what charges might have to be filed."

Rachel whimpered at that and curled into Max, who wrapped her into a tight embrace.

"That won't be necessary, Commander."

"Oh?" Commander arched an eyebrow even as he crossed his arms. He had read Super-Max's file and was confident he could take her out should she plan to make a run for it with her criminal friend. "And why's that?"

"Because none of this ever happened."

And with that, Max dug deep into her ability, grabbed hold, and **PULLED**.

 

* * *

 

Sitting in front of the lighthouse, staring out over the bay, Rachel took a long swallow of her beer, then sighed deeply. It had been a rough three months since Max's hard rewind, made even worse when Max discovered the hard way that travelling through time with a passenger threw her control out the window. She only wanted to rewind a day. Instead, they found themselves a year and a half in the past, all the way back to Arcadia Bay. Rachel supposed it was fortunate that they didn't wind up even further in the past. She wasn't sure she could handle being 12 again.

But, honestly, the inconvenience of having to relive the past year and odd months was nothing compared to what Max went through. For the first time, using her abilities hurt and thanks to the internal injuries Max suffered, she was laid out for two weeks, barely able to function, while suffering with constant migraines and nosebleeds. The SA medical team could find no cause for either nor any evidence of physical injuries, meaning none of their treatments worked. Even Medic's healing touch couldn't do more than temporarily alleviate the worst of the pain.

Seeing Max suffer was painful. But knowing it was all her fault was even worse.

Rachel had her abilities for years but never revealed them to outsiders, never sought training, never registered. She was fearful of what would happen to her, her plans for the future, her dreams of stardom, if she registered. She didn't want to don the uniform, to get into heroics. She knew she didn't have the mental fortitude required to be a hero, not like Max. So, she kept it hidden. Played around with it but never truly practiced. Chloe and Max, they supported her decision, though Max had cautioned her about the probable dangers of the lack of training, something Rachel happily ignored in favor of building their life together.

It took a car accident and a vaporized intersection to finally get Rachel to understand the true dangers of her powers and change her mind about the training.

Out of deference to their relationship, the SA didn't start on Rachel's training until after Max had recovered. Once she had, though, training was pretty much Rachel's world for the next two months straight, almost like a crash course to make up for lost time. It was tough, tougher than anything she had done before, but it was paying off. She was developing a level of control she never would've thought possible before. She was confident that when the training was complete, her powers would never again rage out of control and, if the worst happened, innocent lives wouldn't suffer the price of her carelessness.

Which was the whole point of Max's hard rewind. She admitted it after she recovered and they spoke, that she was afraid that something like the disaster in LA could eventually happen, how she always hoped it never would. How, if she rewound like normal, her pleas to Rachel to get training wouldn't go over well and likely get ignored. How Rachel had to know, personally, what could happen. And how the hard rewind would ensure she retained her memories, making the harsh lesson stick.

It was for the best, Rachel knew. Yes, she was a bit mad about what happened, losing their established lives in LA, but given the alternative, this was a small price to pay. Sadly, it didn't help what she called the Max Situation. Ever since she recovered from her time jump, she'd been more cautious around Rachel. More distant. She claimed things were okay, that nothing was wrong, but damned if that wasn't a blatant lie. Rachel couldn't get Max to open up to her, though, no matter how much she tried. And while she didn't think Max was actively rewinding their conversations to avoid confrontation, she couldn't be sure. After all, if Max believed it was for Rachel's own good, she'd do it, no matter the personal cost.

Someone slid down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, interrupting her musing. Rachel grinned and leaned over. "Hey, babe."

"Hey yourself." Chloe kissed the top of Rachel's head, then reached for the bottle. "Didn't think heroes were allowed to drink."

Rachel snorted. "I'm no hero. I know I don't have the stuff for it, not like Max. She's the strong one in our relationship."

"Maybe not so strong at the moment," Chloe said after taking a swig.

"What do you mean?" Rachel glanced around, noticing she wasn't around. "And where is she, anyway?"

Chloe nodded back the way she came. "She's waiting for us at the truck. Figured you and I wanted some privacy." She shook her head. "At least, that's what she claims. She's nervous."

"Of what? Us?"

"Of us dumping her." Chloe nodded slightly at Rachel's incredulous look. "I know, I feel the same way, but she's expecting it. Has been for a while now, I think. For ruining our lives in LA. For forcing you to get training."

"Are you sure?"

"She's as easy to read now as when she was 15, rewind powers or not. And I've long since figured out what questions to ask and what to listen for that won't raise her suspicions." Chloe looked over to Rachel. "I'd be willing to bet all the money we've been saving up that she believes you hate her now."

"That's stupid. If it wasn't for her, you'd still be dead and so would all those innocent people. I'd be arrested and she'd be all alone. Does she think I want that instead?"

"No, but I promise she feels like she deserves it. Being hated, being left alone." Chloe polished off the beer, then looked out over the bay. "You remember what she said her life was like before the first hard rewind?"

"Yeah?"

"Like that."

Rachel blinked. "Oh, hell no." Rachel stood up from her seat and helped Chloe stand as well. "No way, no how. I'm not going to stay up here moping when our girlfriend needs our help. C'mon."

Chloe smirked as Rachel took her hand and led her back down the path to the parking lot. She knew Rachel would come up with a plan of attack. "Whatcha got cooking in that head of yours?"

"An intervention. Of the naked kind."

"Oo-la-la. I'm loving the sound of that."

When they reached the parking lot, Rachel could see the trepidation on Max's face where she sat in the cab of the truck. She tried to smile at Rachel but it was obvious how fake it was even from here. Rachel let go of Chloe hand and gave her a small signal, warning Chloe to close her eyes. A moment later, Rachel let her power flare outwards, engulfing herself in white-hot flames. They danced, they twirled, they utterly immolated any trace of her clothing without a lick of flame spreading anywhere else. Three steps later, she reabsorbed her fire and, gloriously nude, reached the passenger side door.

Rachel gave Max a beautiful smile. "Hey there, gorgeous. Going my way?" Without waiting for a reply, she opened the door and climbed inside, straddling the still-stunned brunette. She reached over, closed the truck door, and settled herself onto Max's lap. "Nice night, isn't it?"

Max was too busy imitating a fish to respond. Her eyes were wide, her mouth flapped open and closed uselessly, and she was doing her level best to not touch anything that wasn't inappropriate. Her efforts were rendered moot, however, when Rachel reached forward, took a gentle hold of her hands, and placed them on her own hips. Feeling Rachel's nude body under her hands made Max whimper slightly and, almost against her will, her eyes drifted down to take in the enticing view.

Rachel giggled. No matter how many times in the future/past Max touched her, she nearly always reacted like this. It remained utterly endearing. "I've heard a nasty rumor that you're nervous about us leaving you." Rachel glanced over at Chloe when her beloved punk opened the driver side door and climbed inside. "And I wanted to assure you, in my own unique way, that that's never going to happen.

"I love you, Max Caulfield," Rachel continued, reaching a hand out towards Chloe, who entwined their fingers together. "We love you. So fucking much. And we want to spend the rest of our lives together with you. Wherever the future takes us, powers or no powers, so long as we're together, we can tackle anything."

"I..." Max gulped heavily. "I love you, too. Um." She turned to Chloe, who was staring at the two of them with a bemused grin. "Both of you." She turned back to Rachel and did her level best to look her in the eyes and nowhere else. "And not because you're naked and in my lap...?"

"You sure?" Rachel teased, scooting forward until they were flush against one another. "You're not just saying that because of my body?"

"N-no, never. I--" Max bit her bottom lip when Rachel tilted her head down and started placing hot kisses long her neck. "I... I, um, was scared you were-- um, were gonna hate me for what I--" She gasped when Rachel tugged on her earlobe with her teeth.

"Does this feel like I hate you?" Rachel whispered, then savaged Max's neck, making the brunette moan and squirm beneath her. "Do you think I could ever hate someone as wonderful, as beautiful, and selfless and brave as you? Who saved my life and Chloe's? Who only deserves the best the world can offer?" She leaned back and gazed into Max's eyes, love and adoration on her face. "You're my hero, Max. And I could never hate you. Never."

Max stared back and through the haze of lust and want, looked deep into Rachel's eyes. And finally saw the truth. She swallowed and for the first time since she brought the two of them back to Arcadia Bay three months ago, let go of the weight on her shoulders. "Okay."

Rachel grinned, bright and free. Finally, they could really get started on rebuilding their lives. But first, there was one simple matter to attend. Very carefully, Rachel took hold of Max's right hand in her left and guided Max's hand from her hip to her front. She waited for Max to nod and only then cupped herself with their joined hands.

They both gasped out loud at the contact. It had been a long damn three months since Max had touched Rachel in this fashion and holy shit, it felt _good_.

"You do this to me, Max." Rachel groaned as she closed her eyes and rocked her hips once, twice. "You make me feel so good, so hot, so loved. You and Chloe. I love you both." She opened her eyes once more and gave Max a pleading look. "Please. Touch me. Love me. Show me that I deserve it. That I deserve your love."

Max didn't respond with words. She couldn't. Not when Rachel was in her lap like this, begging to be touched, stroked. She licked her lips and got to work, suddenly eager to show Rachel just how much she missed this, how much she enjoyed pleasuring Rachel. She clutched Rachel's hip tighter with her other hand as the blonde bucked in her lap, crying out in pent-up pleasure.

"Fucking hell." Chloe was staring at the show happening two feet away. This was hot as fuck!

Rachel shot her a look and managed a smirk. "Get us home, babe. And if we get there before Max gets me off, I'll let you use whatever toy you deem fit."

Chloe gulped. "The Beast?"

"The Beast."

1.7 seconds later, Chloe was peeling out of the lighthouse parking lot, the force of her exit plastering Rachel and Max together with one loud "OOF!" Somewhere between Max's shouts of "Chloe! Slow down!" Rachel's loud laughter, and Chloe's obsessive determination to finally break out The Beast, all three figured out that yes, things were going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Every now and then, I get an idea for the Super-Max AU that simpletextadventure started. And sometimes, there's enough there to make a story out of. I hope it was at least somewhat enjoyable.


End file.
